GOOD MORNING!

"Our creator would never have made such lovely days, and given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal." Nathaniel Hawthorne

THE JOY OF PERENNIALS

The dictionary definition is "enduring", "returning" , "everlasting".

My definition is "wonderful".











Pass It On

"What a wondrous time is spring,

When all the trees are budding,

The birds begin to sing,

The flowers start their blooming.

That's how it is with God's love

Once you've experienced it;

You want to sing,

It's fresh like spring...

You want to pass it on."

United Methodist Hymnal #572

http://www.hymnsite.com/

ONCE A YEAR

Some things, like this beautiful blossom, only occur one time each spring.

Other. and even more wonderful realities, are with us every moment of every day.

"You have not been sprinkled with forgiveness.

You have not been spattered with grace.

You have not been dusted with kindness.

You have been immersed in it.

You are submerged in mercy.

You are a minnow in the ocean of his mercy.

Let it change you!" Max Lucado

OFF TO A GOOD START

Planted yesterday.


God watered last evening.

TFT: "Spring is God thinking in gold, laughing in blue, and speaking in green." Frank Johnson

PLANTING TIME!

Yesterday I spent hours shopping for plants.

Today I will plant them in the ground, in pots, and in window boxes.

I will water and feed....and then wait for the miracle of growth.

TFT: "All the beautiful things in this world are gifts and signs of God's love to us. The whole world is a love letter from God." Peter Kreet

Thank you, God, for the flowers and a garden to plant them it.

BREAKING THROUGH1

Can you see the cracked earth?

Took this a few minutes ago.

We will keep track of this one as the days go by.

The following is a little song my neighbor, Jim McClellandhttp://mysite.verizon.net/vze70d2g/id3.html used to sing each spring as he mowed our lawn.

Thanks, Jim, for the years of lawn mowing and the reminder of God's love and power.

Well the Lord said repay evil

Though with good,

and I wondered in my heart

if I could,

Then I see the little lily pushing up

the heavy sod, and I marveled

at the wisdom of my God.

Well they crucified the Father's only Son,

when they put Him in the ground

they thought they'd won,

Then they saw the little lily pushing up

the heavy sod, and they marveled

at the wisdom of my God.

LIFE

"God knows the rhythm of my spirit and knows my heart thoughts.

He is as close as breathing." Anonymous

And I would add: He is my very breath....Peggy

AS PROMISED

A few more old homes.

These are on my block on Wilson Ave.

A bit different from the ones yesterday....but just as special.

Been a "heap of living" going on here too.

TFT: "What marvelous love the Father has extended to us!

Just look at it --we're called children of God!" 1 John; 3:1 The Message

HAD A GREAT TIME1

i had no idea of the beautiful, historic homes in Allton, Illinois. Three of these were Bed and Breakfasts.

Had a wonderful time.

I asked the tour guide if I could just stay and have them pick me up on the next trip over here, but the answer was. "No".

Learned a lot of history as well as enjoying the homes.

Tomorrow: More historic home pictures.

TFT: Often quoted by Mom. "It takes a heap of living to make a house a home."

UP EARLY AND LOOKING FORWARD TO.....

a day trip with several friends.

Sponsored by one of their banks, we're going to Alton for a guided tour of "four lovely landmark homes in this 170 year-old river town community." and "lunch will be served at the popular Josephine's Restaurant."

I love old homes. : ) My little one is getting a little work done on the outside. You know...a "tuck" here and a "tuck" there. Hopefully to keep her standing another 100 years!, or at least as long as I do.

The goal is to make the repairs look as though they'd "been there forever". I think maybe that's working.


TFT' "...we do not lose heart...Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

NOT EASY...BUT I AM GOING TO TRY.

I am making a resolve today to "Get Real". Am asking for God's help as I really need it on this one.

This resolution was prompted by the following devotion for Saturday, April 14th from "The Word For You Today".

"Each one should test his own actions....without comparing himself to somebody else." Galations 4:6 NIV

Are you living as God intended, or are you struggling to live up to other people's expectations? What would happen if you dropped your mask and got real?

The story of The Velveteen Rabbit has a timeless message for each of us.

In a conversation between a new toy rabbit and an old skin horse, Rabbit asks, "What is real? Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you're made," replied Horse, "it's a thing that happens to you when a child really loves you."

"Does it hurt?" asked Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said Horse, "It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, have sharp edges, or have to be carefully kept. Generally by the time you're real most of your hair has been loved off, your eyes drop out, you get loose in the joints and very flabby. But these things don't matter because once you're real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

King David said, "you made my whole being...in an amazing...way (Ps 139:13-14 NCV)

Becoming real means accepting yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spirtually, and at the same time, recognizing and acknowledging that in God's eyes you are a work-in-progress.

Paul writes: "Since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed...parts...let's...go ahead and be what we were made to be" (Romans 12:4-6 TM)

Then he adds: "We all have different gifts....let us use them.."

and God will take you places you never imagined.

I'm going to try to start that journey today.

IT'S AN OPTION

"We can go through all the activities of our days in joyful awareness of God's presence with whispered prayers of praise and adoration flowing continuously from our hearts." Richard J. Foster

A REALLY NEAT PLAN

I know this to be true, because I have experienced it many times in my life.


"In God's wisdom, He frequently chooses to meet our needs by showing His love toward us through the hands and hearts of others." Jack Hayford

DON'T FORGET

"God loves us for ourselves.

He values our love more than He values galaxies of new created worlds." A.W. Tozer

IT IS EVIDENT

"The basic reality of God is plain enough.

Open your eyes and there it is!

By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being." Romans 1: 19-20 The Message

EVEN SOLOMON......

"Nature is the living, visible garment of God." Goethe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe

IT'S CALLED GOOD FRIDAY......

A decision was made in the garden, and then followed betrayal, arrest, desertion, denial, three illegal trials, false witnesses, beatings, mockings, a crown of thorns, a troubled dream, a cowardly ruler, a criminal released, and the cries "Crucify".

A long road carrying a rugged beam, a stranger called into service, and weeping women.

Spikes into the flesh, unbelievable agony, humiliation, torment, two thieves, words spoken, clothes gambled for, a mother cared for, thirst, a cry, "Why...", a prayer of forgiveness, sacred blood flowing, a declaration of completion, and a relinquishing of Spirit into a Father's hand.

A spear, darkness, thunder, earthquake, a veil torn.

Death.

FOR THE LOVE OF YOU

"Our greatness rests solely on the fact that God in His incomprehensible goodness has bestowed His love upon us.

God does not love us because we are so valuable; we are valuable because God loves us." Helen Thielicke

"...Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, 'Stay here while I go over there and pray'.

....he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. and he said, 'This sorrow is crushing my life out' and going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, 'My Father, if there is any other way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?" Matthew 26: 36-39 The Message

:....GOD CREATED"

"God who is goodness and truth is also beauty.

It is the innate human and divine longing, found in the company of goodness and truth, that is able to recognize and leap up at beauty and rejoice and know that there is not one speck of beauty under the sun that does not mirror back the beauty of God." Roberta Bondi

SPACE TO GROW

April 10, 2006 and March 31, 2007

TFT:"When we give the Word of God space to live in our heart, the Spirit of God will use it to take root, penetrating the earthiest recesses of our lives." Ken Gire

PEEKING OUT

We've all heard the expression, "Bloom where you're planted".

I would like to submit for thought that sometimes you haven't really been planted, you just seem to find yourself in a place (situation, time, etc.)

Well, according to this little guy, you can still bloom!













TFT: This is what we call Holy Week. We all know that next Sunday we will remember and celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But there are some tough days ahead in His journey to that great morning. Take time to reflect on each one and be thankful that God has seen fit to reveal to us His promise, His plan, and His purpose.